Dana White: Ronda Rousey Likely Won’t be Back For UFC 200

If you’ve been questioning why the UFC decided to book Holly Holm to fight Miesha Tate at UFC 197, rather than wait for Ronda Rousey, well, it looks like you have your answer.

After Holm turned the MMA world upside down in November by taking out Rousey, the UFC brass said an immediate rematch, at UFC 200, would likely be next. Holm and her camp said they wanted to fight in the interim, however, and after a few weeks of not hearing much, it was announced she’ll fight Tate on March 5th.

So why did the UFC decide to shift gears? And potentially jeopardize its plans to have Holm – Rousey II headline UFC 200? Well, in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Dana White revealed that Rousey probably won’t be ready to fight in July.

According to the UFC President, the filming for the “Roadhouse” remake, which Rousey is starring in, has been pushed back. As a result, Rousey reportedly asked the promotion for some more time off, before she returns to the Octagon.

“The filming of the movie got pushed back,” White said. “She could do both, but the question is, should she do both? She could do both, but why should she? The filming is in a time frame where she’d finish before 200, but it would be cutting it too close.”

“The way I look at this one is, Ronda has worked her ass off for us for the last three years,” White added. “She’s been fighting, promoting and building the sport. If anyone deserves the time off, it’s her…”

While a lot of fans probably aren’t thrilled to hear that Rousey won’t be fighting again any time soon, really, the UFC’s decision here makes sense. Rousey has done some big solids for the UFC, and further, many have speculated whether she should return to the cage in July, after suffering a brutal KO like that.

Now it will be interesting to see who Rousey will face in her return–Holm or Tate?